Ukraine soybean area to shrink in 2018 as profit to drop - Reuters

The area sown for soybeans in Ukraine is likely to shrink by 14-17% this year due to an expected decrease in profits for the crop, analyst UkrAgroConsult said on Tuesday.

REUTERS

Ukraine harvested 3.89 million tonnes of soybean from 1.9 million hectares in 2017.

“Soybean margins will decrease almost by half to 25.4% in 2017. Combined with tax innovations, this will make growers less interested in this crop and entail a 200,000 to 300,000 hectare cut in plantings for the 2018 harvest,” the consultancy said in a report, according to Reuters.

Last year, the Ukrainian parliament canceled a VAT refund for exports of oilseeds from Sept 1, 2018, a move which could cause a significant decrease in Ukrainian purchasing prices and prompt growers to reduce sowing area.